With J.J. Abrams shooting "Star Wars: Episode VII" in London -- which is sort of like a galaxy far, far away -- veteran screenwriter Roberto Orci is negotiating to make his directorial debut with "Star Trek 3" for Paramount and Skydance, an individual familiar with the project told TheWrap.

The Website reported Orci was considered a favorite for the big-time gig for the past month, though Paramount apparently still needed convincing that he could handle such a big movie his first time behind the camera.

In this Jan. 8, 2013 file photo, J.J. Abrams arrives at the Winter TCA Fox All-Star Party at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, Calif. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File)

Abrams -- who directed the first two films of the rebooted franchise -- gave his blessing to Orci, who was already part of the franchise's creative group. Abrams will still serve as a producer on the next "Star Trek" film.

Orci is already working on the "Star Trek 3" screenplay with J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. While plot details remain under wraps, the main cast is expected to return.

Orci and his longtime writing/producing partner Alex Kurtzman recently parted ways on feature projects. Kurtzman is developing "Venom" at Sony and has been much more hands-on regarding Universal's reboot of "The Mummy," which he's producing with Orci and Sean Daniel.